CTL Prize for Excellence in Writing

The CTL Prize for Excellence in Writing (CTL Prize) is awarded to one or more students annually for their contribution to writing in the area of taxation or tax law.  Each year, the California Tax Lawyer editing committee will select an article written by a student author for publication in the California Tax Lawyer magazine.

The California Tax Lawyer magazine is an annual magazine published by the California Lawyer’s Association Taxation Section designed to keep tax lawyers and other tax professionals apprized of the latest developments in the field, as well as up-to-date on the activities of the Taxation Section.

Articles submitted for consideration must follow the rules and guidelines below.

CTL Prize Article Submission Rules and Guidelines

Guidelines

The California Tax Lawyer will consider article submissions that are either informational or proposals for a change in law.  Submissions should be between 15 and 20 pages in length (exclusive of footnotes), single-spaced, written in arial typeface font-size 11. Shorter submissions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Rules

• To be considered, submissions must be the author’s original work. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tools and technologies for article content generation, e.g., large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT), is not in line with our authorship criteria.  Where AI tools are used in content generation, they must be acknowledged and documented appropriately in the authored word.  Authors must take responsibility for the integrity of the content generated by these models and tools.
• Articles may be adapted from previous law school writing assignments that have not been published. Submission drafts must be reviewed in the form intended for publication by a law professor.  Please include the professor’s name and email address for verification with each submission.
• Submissions must include a disclaimer that the work is not tax advice.
• Submissions must include a statement as to whether the author presently or previously has had a matter involving the issue pending before any state or local tax authority (e.g., FTB, EDD, CDTFA, BOE, County Board of Supervisors, Assessor), administrative tribunal or court.
• Submissions must include a statement as to whether the author has or has had a direct professional, personal or financial interest in the issue addressed in the article.
• The deadline for submission is March 1, 2025. Submissions made after the deadline will not be considered.  Please send submissions to keithlongytl@gmail.com

Style Requirements

• Submissions must comply with the California Style Manual for citations.
• For further style guidance, see the Article Submissions Manual: https://calawyers.org/section/taxation/publications/california-tax-lawyer-articles-manual/